Posted: 22.03.09 15:06. Post subject: Пресса знает всё! :)

 Posted: 18.04.09 06:13. Post subject: Friday, 17 April 200..

Friday, 17 April 2009

R. NADAL/N. Lapentti
6-3, 6-0

An interview with: RAFAEL NADAL

Q. A tough day. Can you talk about both the matches from your perspective.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, tough day but two good wins without lose a set. That is good news. Best news I am in semifinals. So very happy for that.

Q. How do you turn around when you have to play twice in a day? Is it tough to concentrate? Are you physically tired?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I think I play less than three hours, so that's always important. No, mentally nothing. Just go on court, try to play my best. Important thing I didn't have a very long match the first one, so I was totally hundred percent to play the second. That's important, yeah. If I had to play three hours the first match, gonna be tougher the second.

Q. Does it help your rhythm for the second match that you have already played one match in the day?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, the first match I started bad, but I finish the match better than I start. And the second match, maybe even had a lot of mistakes. So, yeah, I was there without do too much. But the feeling was better.
Is important thing, I finished the day better than I start.

Q. Do you feel like your feelings on clay are back yet, on this surface?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know, no? My feeling is I didn't play my level on clay yet. I didn't play my best level on clay yet. So I have to improve if I want to have chances to win the tournament. I am sure on that, no.

Q. What do you have to improve?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, everything. Have to play a little bit more inside, less mistakes, serve a little bit better. I think all aspects of the game I have to improve. But I hope tomorrow gonna be better.

Q. Tomorrow if you have to play against Murray, you played him on clay last year in Hamburg. The way he improved his game, do you think he could be more dangerous than he was in Hamburg last year?
RAFAEL NADAL: Every player is dangerous. We are talking about the No. 4, with chances to be third because he don't have to defend a lot in the next weeks. So, yeah, always is a really tough match. The first thing, no, you can't be in semifinals of one big tournament like Monte Carlo and have an easy match. That's impossible.

Q. Were you surprised by the win from Wawrinka yesterday?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I didn't surprise. Wawrinka is a very good player. Maybe Roger didn't play his best level. Wawrinka was there and playing good tennis.
Every match is tough. If you are not playing your hundred percent, you can lose against everybody.

Q. Can you talk about Davydenko in case he wins.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, no, Davydenko I know well. I played in semifinals against him here last year. I played against him in 2007, I think semifinals, very long semifinals, in Rome. So always is tough match. Is very good clay court player. I have to play very well if I want to win.

 Posted: 18.04.09 21:00. Post subject: NADAL PRESENTED WITH..

NADAL PRESENTED WITH 2008 ATP PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD


ATP board member Zeljko Franulovic presented Rafael Nadal with the 2008 ATP Player of the Year Award during La Grande Nuit du Tennis of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Friday night.
The Spaniard will compete in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament against World No. 4 Andy Murray on Saturday, as he attempts to win his fifth successive title in the principality.

The prestigious award was bestowed on the 22-year-old Nadal after an exceptional 2008 season. The Mallorca native was the first Spaniard to be crowned ATP World Tour champion after becoming the first left-hander to finish No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings since John McEnroe in 1984.

The Manacor resident became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in the same year and led the ATP World Tour season with eight tour-level titles in total and 82 match wins. He also helped Spain to the Davis Cup title by winning all three of his matches during the year.

Nadal has opened the 2009 season in similarly devastating form – winning his sixth Grand Slam championship, and first on hard court, at the Australian Open (d. Federer) and claiming his 13th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament at Indian Wells (d. Murray).
http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/1/en/news/newsarticle_3236.asp

 Posted: 18.04.09 22:58. Post subject: Nadal Meets Djokovic..

Nadal Meets Djokovic In MC Final
By Tennis Week
Saturday, April 18, 2009

Rafael Nadal was tested in the second set, but again proved to be a powerful problem solver in subduing Andy Murray and continuing his tear toward history in Monte Carlo.

The World No. 1 survived a second-set charge from Murray to score a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory to advance to Sunday's final and move within one win of a record-setting fifth straight Monte Carlo championship.

Three of the world's top four players took the court for today's semifinals and when the day was done two of the top three in the world reached the final.

Novak Djokovic rebounded from a first-set slip up to power past 13th-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. It was Djokovic's fifth straight victory over Wawrinka as he improved his head-to-head advantage to 6-2. The match was a rematch of the 2008 Rome final, which Djokovic won by a similar score, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

In today's rematch, Djokovic had four break-point chances in the opening set, but could not convert.

The third-seeded Serbian played tentative tennis serving at 4-all and surrendered serve. Wawrinka then served out the set with little difficulty.

There are times when both Djokovic and Murray, who are fine defensive players and two of the quickest men in tennis not named Nadal, fall back on their defensive skills far too often rather than asserting themselves. At those times, it's like watching a Formula One driver only use a reverse gear in trying to navigate a challenging course.

To his credit, Djokovic turned up the throttle in the second set. Rather than waiting for the Swiss to miss, Djokovic began to accelerate through his shots and prodded Wawrinka into errors in racing out to a 4-1 lead before closing the second set.

In the third set, a composed Djokovic converted three of seven break point chances to reach his first Monte Carlo final in four appearances. It is the second straight Masters Series final for Djokovic, who bowed to Murray on hard court in the Sony Ericsson Open final in Miami earlier this month. Additionally, the victory ensures Djokovic will retain the World No. 3 ranking when the new rankings are released on Monday. Had Murray won the title here, he would have surpassed the 2008 Australian Open champion for the third spot.

"This is my first final at Monte Carlo," said Djokovic. "He played well and was controlling the match. But I was able to play my style in the end and that helped."

Wawrinka was left to rue lost opportunities. He had a chance to take a 3-0 lead in the final set, but faltered and ultimately lost six of the final seven games. Djokovic was off the doubles alley when he drilled a backhand winner down the line to earn triple match point. Wawrinka unleashed successive strong serves to erase the first two, but Djokovic delivered a forehand winner to end the two hour, 28 minute match.

"I am very frustrated and disappointed," said Wawrinka. "I was up 2-0 and I had this opportunity to go up 3-0 (in the third set). I lost that game and the game at 2-2. These two games made me lose the match."

In the day's second semi, Nadal controlled the opening set so convincingly that after he won the first set a contingent of fans headed for the exits, believing the match was over. Murray had other ideas in battling back from a 2-5 second-set deficit and fought off a match point when Nadal served for it at 5-4 to eventually force the breaker.

But Nadal always seems to have an extra gear on his favored red clay. He won the first three points of the tie breaker and never looked back in extending his streak of dominance in Monte Carlo.

It was the 26th consecutive victory in the Principality for Nadal, who has won 30 straight sets in Monte Carlo since dropping the second set in the 2006 final to Roger Federer. Nadal scored his 20th straight triumph on clay going back to last May when he fell to compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. Nadal's feet were riddled with blisters in that loss to Ferrero.

During the winning streak, he’s won 51 of 54 sets. The four-time French Open champion has won 24 straight semifinal matches on clay since losing in his first ATP WorldTour semifinal in Umag to countryman Carlos Moya in July 2003.

 Posted: 18.04.09 23:07. Post subject: Nadal to face Djokov..

 Posted: 19.04.09 00:07. Post subject: Monte-Carlo Rolex Ma..

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
Friday, 17 April 2009
R. NADAL/N. Lapentti 6-3, 6-0

An interview with: RAFAEL NADAL

Q. A tough day. Can you talk about both the matches from your perspective.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, tough day but two good wins without lose a set. That is good news. Best news I am in semifinals. So very happy for that.

Q. How do you turn around when you have to play twice in a day? Is it tough to concentrate? Are you physically tired?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I think I play less than three hours, so that's always important. No, mentally nothing. Just go on court, try to play my best. Important thing I didn't have a very long match the first one, so I was totally hundred percent to play the second. That's important, yeah. If I had to play three hours the first match, gonna be tougher the second.

Q. Does it help your rhythm for the second match that you have already played one match in the day?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, the first match I started bad, but I finish the match better than I start. And the second match, maybe even had a lot of mistakes. So, yeah, I was there without do too much. But the feeling was better.
Is important thing, I finished the day better than I start.

Q. Do you feel like your feelings on clay are back yet, on this surface?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know, no? My feeling is I didn't play my level on clay yet. I didn't play my best level on clay yet. So I have to improve if I want to have chances to win the tournament. I am sure on that, no.

Q. What do you have to improve?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, everything. Have to play a little bit more inside, less mistakes, serve a little bit better. I think all aspects of the game I have to improve. But I hope tomorrow gonna be better.

Q. Tomorrow if you have to play against Murray, you played him on clay last year in Hamburg. The way he improved his game, do you think he could be more dangerous than he was in Hamburg last year?
RAFAEL NADAL: Every player is dangerous. We are talking about the No. 4, with chances to be third because he don't have to defend a lot in the next weeks. So, yeah, always is a really tough match. The first thing, no, you can't be in semifinals of one big tournament like Monte Carlo and have an easy match. That's impossible.

Q. Were you surprised by the win from Wawrinka yesterday?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I didn't surprise. Wawrinka is a very good player. Maybe Roger didn't play his best level. Wawrinka was there and playing good tennis.
Every match is tough. If you are not playing your hundred percent, you can lose against everybody.

Q. Can you talk about Davydenko in case he wins.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, no, Davydenko I know well. I played in semifinals against him here last year. I played against him in 2007, I think semifinals, very long semifinals, in Rome. So always is tough match. Is very good clay court player. I have to play very well if I want to win.

 Posted: 19.04.09 08:13. Post subject: Saturday, 18 April 2..

Saturday, 18 April 2009

R. NADAL/A. Murray
6-2, 7-6

An interview with: RAFAEL NADAL

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You were up 6 2, 5 2, then what happened? You lost four of five games. Was it because of him or you, or both?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I was playing very well. I think I had the match under control, playing well, playing with good tactic, too, I think good strategy. And, yeah, I thought my chance was in the 5 2. That was the moment for me. With the 5 3, yeah, I play a little bit shorter.
Well, Andy's amazing player, no? He has this ability of, when he needs, he can put it to a little more level. He did anyway. I have the match point at 5 3. I had one forehand to try to have the winner. I played so so, cross forehand, and later he has good drop. So, yeah, nothing to say. He play better.
I am very happy about my match. I play much better today than the other days. So that's a good match for the final. I'm very happy to be in this final. Very happy to beat Andy because always a very good player. Very tough.

Q. Did you feel he improved since the last time you played him on clay last year?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know if he improve on clay; he improve his level everywhere. That's the thing, no? Last year I play with him, I don't know what was his ranking. Wasn't top 10 I think.

Q. 11 or 12.
RAFAEL NADAL: Anyway, the ranking and the results are totally different, yeah.

Q. Can you talk about playing Novak.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, always is a very tough, tough match. He's a good player. I think he's playing well. He is having a very good tournament.
Sure, I have to play my best tennis if I want to have chances to win, no? So I gonna try to play aggressive and try my best. I know gonna be tough, but I expect play like today or a little bit better.

Q. Do you feel unbeatable here?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. Sure not.

Q. Not many people expected that Murray could play so well on clay. Maybe you did. What is your impression about him in terms of development of game? Can he adjust to clay so he can become your toughest opponent, as it was Federer until last year?
RAFAEL NADAL: A lot of players can play very well on clay. Andy's one of these players. And when one player have results, winning in Rotterdam, winning in Doha, winning in Miami...

Q. I'm talking about clay.
RAFAEL NADAL: Doesn't matter. If you are good player, you are good player in everywhere, no? In the end, everybody talks about my game wasn't good for Wimbledon, and I had three finals. So when you have a level, when you have a very good level, you can play at the best level in every surface. And Andy gonna do that for sure, yeah.
And sure, he gonna continuing improve on clay because he gonna win a lot of matches. When you are playing more matches and more matches, and you have more wins, you have more confidence, and you watch a little bit better how to play on this surface.
Is the first year when he arrives with this level, so sure he gonna has his chances in the future to win in Roland Garros. 'In the future'? In five weeks maybe, but sure in the future.

Q. You have won 30 sets in a row in Monaco. What does it mean to you?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I never thought about that, no? For me the only thing and important thing is I started the season, the clay season, well, playing the final here. Anyway, the result tomorrow is a very good start. I'm very happy for that. And happy today because improve my level more than 50% than the other days, no? That's very important for me.

Q. What was your strategy coming to the net against Murray? Before the match, what did you think about Murray?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I thought try to play with topspin, try to play long balls against his backhand, try to put him outside with my forehand and wait my moment to go inside.
I know he play sometimes three meters behind the line, have some dropshots. When I have the chance, go to the net.
But I think he play long. He play some high balls. So, yeah, was tough to attack because when the ball is coming soft and long and high, is really tough to have important shot, no?
So I think I was waiting all the time my moment. But I did well, yeah. That's what I think before the match, what I thought, no?

Q. Is it an advantage to have beaten Novak in Davis Cup recently on clay?
RAFAEL NADAL: A lot of things change from that moment. He's not the same player. Yeah, it was his second match on clay. Right now he having very good wins here. He has more matches on the shoulder. Gonna be totally different match, I am sure.

 Posted: 19.04.09 19:04. Post subject: Rafa's Record Re..

Rafa's Record Reign: Nadal Wins Fifth Monte Carlo Crown
By Tennis Week
Sunday, April 19, 2009

Rafael Nadal had ruled the Monte Carlo court for four straight years, but Novak Djokovic was swinging with the authority of a man armed with an eviction notice.

On the strength of a stinging serve and an assertive attack of varied volleys, the third-seeded Serbian had stormed through the second set and collected break points against Nadal in the opening game of the final set.

The reigning champion was reeling, but Nadal responded with a rousing revival sparked by a sensational retrieval. In the opening game of the final set, the pair produced one of the most electrifying exchanges you'll see on a clay court that ended with Nadal's eye-popping winner that brought Djokovic to his knees in short-circuiting the Serbian's upset hopes.

Summoning the strength and shotmaking skills that have made him nearly invincible on clay, Nadal won six of the last seven games to capture his record-setting fifth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters championships with a hard-fought, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 triumph that spanned two hours and 43 minutes.

It was Nadal's 27th straight Monte Carlo victory. Continuing his climb up the ladder of tennis history, the World No. 1 collected his 14th career Masters Series shield, which ties him with Roger Federer for second-place on the all-time list behind leader Andre Agassi, who won 17 Masters Series titles. Nadal, who beat Andy Murray to win Indian Wells last month, has collected two of the three Masters Series championships this season. He has won three of the last six Masters Series events he's played.

The four-time French Open champion is ofted lauded for his physical strength and emotional intensity — deservedly so — but today it was Nadal's mind that helped him master a determined Djokovic, who successfully changed up his tactics in taking the match to Nadal for much of the first two sets and forcing the top-seeded Spaniard to summon a series of world-class shots to beat him. Nadal flipped the script and changed the pattern of his passes on key shots, ran down everything Djokovic threw at him and simply refused to lose.

The final set score reads like a blow-out, but the set spanned nearly an hour and saw Nadal fight off five of the six break points he faced, including three in the opening game of the set, which is when Nadal stopped the bleeding from his second-set slide and scarred Djokovic in snatching away a game that seemed to be in the Serbian's pocket.

Staring down a break point, Nadal showed the skills that make him a champion for the ages.

A bruising baseline rally escalated into one of the longest exchanges of the match when Djokovic attacked behind a backhand, used every inch of his 6-foot-3 frame to liftt a full stretch forehand drop volley that carried the stamp of a winner like the manufacturer's logo on the ball.

But if you've watched Nadal at all during his five-year reign in the Principality you know that he plays with a passion who believes no shot — no matter how well struck —will be a winner on his watch.

Streaking forward, the Spanish slasher somehow reached the ball before its second bounce and scraped angled forehand past a lunging Djokovic finding a remarkable angle and creating such a soft touch from a full sprint. The Serbian, stunned by the sensational reply that nullified his certain winner, dropped to his knees as if praying for a divine replay.

It's debatable whether any other man in the world would have reached that ball, but it's almost inarguable that no one else could have produced that reply Nadal did.

Nadal saved the break point and proceeded to break Djokovic's heart.

The reigning champ erased another break point with a wide serve that left Djokovic cursing himself. Djokovic correctly anticipated a pass but missed a forehand volley then wound up and slammed his Head racquet to the court in a fury. Djokovic drilled a forehand down the line and earned a third break point, but sent a return long.

A Djokovic return landed on the line, the lineswoman called it out, then corrected her initial incorrect call giving Nadal two serves. Swooping forward to run down a medicore Djokovic drop shot, Nadal swatted a backhand winner and unleashed an uppercut forehand winner with the force of a body blow to hold for 1-0. Nadal fought off three break points in the rousing 13-minute game and celebrated with a heart-felt "Vamos!" sending an audible declaration of desire to his opponent, who understood all too clearly how an important opportunity had been wrenched right out of his hands. Djokovic did almost everything right in that game, yet Nadal made sure it all came out wrong for the Serbian.

Fortune did not favor Djokovic in the final set. Up 40-15, he got the wrong bounce off a net cord and double faulted to drop to deuce. On the next point, Djokovic's drop shot hung on the top of the tape for a split second then slithered back on his side of the net leaving him staring up at the sky as if scanning the horizon for help on the way.

Nadal, who had been playing the majority of his backhand passes crosscourt, abruptly altered that pattern, smacking a running backhand pass down the line to earn break point. Another net cord benefitted Nadal again when a Djokovic drive ricocheted off the top of the tape and landed beyond the baseline. It was at least the third time Djokovic was betrayed by a net cord and the man who could see his chance slipping past like sand in an hour glass belted a ball out of the stadium in frustration earning a code violation warning.

Djokovic broke back for 1-2, but it was the last game he won. Nadal broke for the second straight time for a 3-1 lead.

Stamping his control of the match with his second ace, Nadal held for 4-1. Launching a deep double fault — his third of the match with all three coming in the final set — Djokovic gave Nadal a 5-1 lead.

A flat forehand from Djokovic died in the net. After a spirited fight for two and a half sets, the Serbian was resigned to his fate, sending a backhand into the net on match point.

Djokovic showed he has the tactics to press Nadal on clay — at least for two and a half sets — but ultimately Nadal answered the problems Djokovic posed on crucial points.

 Posted: 19.04.09 19:14. Post subject: Nadal wins fifth Mon..

Nadal wins fifth Monte Carlo title in a row
Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:00pm BST
By Julien Pretot

MONTE CARLO, April 19 (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the Monte Carlo Masters five times in a row when he beat Novak Djokovic 6-3 2-6 6-1 in Sunday's final.

The Spanish world number one underlined his status as hot favourite for a fifth consecutive French Open triumph at Roland Garros when the claycourt grand slam starts in five weeks.

The 22-year-old improved his personal record against Djokovic to 12-4, but the Serb showed the colossus could be beaten when he managed to win the second set, the first Nadal has dropped in the principality since the 2006 final.

"First of all, congratulations to Novak anyway. A fifth victory here is a dream coming true. Thank you to everybody and see you next year," Nadal said in his post-match speech.

"Congratulations to Rafa and his team. You guys are unbelievable, well done again," said Djokovic, who has lost his seven matches on clay against Nadal.

Nobody has matched Nadal's performance in the Monte Carlo tournament since tennis turned professional in 1968.

Briton Reggie Doherty won the event six times, from its inception in 1897 until 1899 and from 1902 to 1904, while New Zealander Anthony Wilding won it four times in a row from 1911.

Djokovic came out on centre court all guns blazing, opening a 3-1 lead as Nadal was struggling with his serve.

BODY-PUNISHING GAME

The Spaniard hit back hard, winning five games in row and breaking decisively in the seventh at his fourth attempt when Djokovic sent a backhand wide.

The Serb had his back massaged at change of sides before pocketing the first two games of the second set.

Nadal threatened to come back again, finding outrageous angles with his devastating forehand.

Off balance, he fired a forehand winner down the line to set up a third break point in the fourth game, which Djokovic saved at the net.

Nadal was clearly on the back foot and a forehand that went long gave Djokovic another break and he followed up on serve to open a 5-1 lead before levelling the match with an ace.

The climax of the match was an astonishing, body-punishing, 14-minute first game in the deciding set.

Nadal staved off a break point after an amazing run to recover a drop shot and he saved two others before keeping his serve.

The Spaniard then broke his opponent to move 2-0 up, only for Djokovic to break back. But the effort proved too much for the Serb, who twice double faulted when he was serving at 40-30 and advantage in the fourth game.

Nadal converted a break point when a Djokovic forehand clipped the top of net and bounced out, and then never looked back, wrapping it up on his first match point when the Serb netted a backhand.

 Posted: 19.04.09 22:12. Post subject: Sunday, 19 April 200..

Sunday, 19 April 2009

R. NADAL/N. Djokovic
6-3, 2-6, 6-1

An interview with: RAFAEL NADAL

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How tough was it when he broke back in the third set?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, was tougher in the second I think. Yeah, no, I started the match playing well. The first game, well, he play really bad. Later he played well with the 3 1. But later I played good tennis. But in the first game of the second was really important, no? I won five games in a row.
Yeah, the first game of the second I had an easy passing shot to win the game, one game point. Yeah, I had the mistake. And later I had some more mistakes in that game. He started to play well. I play a little bit short. I had the big chance in 2 1, one 15 40, one easy forehand. I played well, but I take out like this. Yeah, later I play a bad game with my serve. Was impossible the second, no.
But the third, yeah, the beginning I have a little bit lucky because he has two breakpoints and one dropshot, important dropshot. I came back. That point was really important. After that I think I played really well the third, no? Important moments, I was focused all the time. Was tough the 2 1, but I know I was really focused.
I had two important mistakes in the 2 0 for 3 0. I have two game points. I was playing with topspin and I want to put forehand little bit too much low and I put both two in the net.

Q. Overall it seemed like an up and down match. Did it feel like that for you?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yes. Well, the second for me was like this. But the third I think wasn't up and down, no? I think was very long points a lot of times. Yeah, I was well physically. I feeled well physically, and mentally really well in the third. I played well, no? I had some good passing shots. Well, I didn't have mistakes in the third. I think the third was more regular.

Q. When it's close, is the fact that you have such an amazing record here, you seem to play well here, does that help? Does that give you a different degree of confidence?
RAFAEL NADAL: Having the four titles here?

Q. Yes. Just playing so well here.
RAFAEL NADAL: No, no. Well, I had very good results on clay last few years, so that's give me a little more confidence. When I am in tough moments, I know if I am there all the time I have chances always. But every match is different, no? I am only thinking about the match, not if I won 100 matches, no?

Q. Would you say it was your toughest final here?
RAFAEL NADAL: If this one was the toughest?

Q. Yes.
RAFAEL NADAL: I have against Coria a really tough one. Against Federer one year I had four sets, too. No, I have tough finals always. This one was tough, sure. But I have other ones was tough.

Q. Are you able to carry the confidence to next week?
RAFAEL NADAL: Always is really important for me start the clay season like this, no, for the confidence. But the most important thing is the title more than the confidence. Win another time here is more than a dream for me. Is, yeah, unbelievable, no? Fifth title here in Monte Carlo. I never expect something like this.
But, yeah, I feeled very emotional today, no?

Q. And for Barcelona, five also.
RAFAEL NADAL: For Barcelona, Wednesday first round, not five.

Q. Does it represent something special for you to win five titles here?
RAFAEL NADAL: Is one of the more important tournaments of the world. Is a really historic tournament. Best players of the history was playing here. Always play here for me is a pleasure, no? Is a dream when I came to Monte Carlo in 2003 I think for the first time, play here was a dream for me. And right now, yeah, have five titles, I never thought, no?

Q. Do you realize you made something very huge?
RAFAEL NADAL: Sure, to win Masters Series is always really tough. But now win five, yeah, for me, if I want to choose, if I have the chance to choose one Masters Series before the start of the season to win, Monte Carlo is gonna be in the first positions, no? The city, the atmosphere, everything is special, the history of the tournament. Yeah, always is special for me this tournament.

Q. You said at the start of the week you were going to play without strapping on your knees. How are your knees at the end of the tournament?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, was okay. Everything fine, no? No different without than with the bands, no? I don't feel any difference.

Q. You think you won't play with them in the future?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, we gonna try to continuing play like this. But you know if someday I play with the bands, that doesn't mean I have a problem. Right now we try like this. Right now it's okay. But I don't know if in a few weeks I gonna start another time.

Q. When you win in Monte Carlo, after you win in Roland Garros. Is that a good sign?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, I did four years. That's nothing, no? Is completely different tournament and remain some weeks to Roland Garros. I am focused on Barcelona and Rome later. So, yes, some important tournaments are before.

Q. Can you talk about Novak's performance. Is that one of the best games he's played against you on clay?
RAFAEL NADAL: Maybe the best was last year in Hamburg. That was the toughest one. But, yes, he is a very good player, no? On clay, too, he has very good results on clay. He's top three, top four, top two. Yeah, I think top three or top four on clay. Last few years he did. Always play against him is tough, no? And today wasn't an exception.

Q. You improved a lot on hard surfaces. Do you think you can improve on clay?
RAFAEL NADAL: Everyone can improve in every surface, no? No one is perfect. Sure, I can improve. And I work always to improve because when you feel you can't improve, is difficult to wake up and go on court and practice with the illusion, no?
If I am here, is to continuing improve all the time. That's my illusion, my motivation, no, go on court and continuing improve my tennis.
When someday I don't gonna feel something like this, I gonna go, I think. Always you can improve. If you don't have this illusion, you are not prepared to play.

Q. What would you like to improve most?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, the serve is really important because I was serving better in the beginning of the season. This tournament I didn't serve very well. Especially the second serve was sometimes 120 kilometers per hour. So that's disaster. Yeah, I have to play more, have to serve better next week. I gonna have two days to work.

 Posted: 20.04.09 01:46. Post subject: Спасибо Рафе за слов..

Спасибо Рафе за слова про подачу. Значит не только я уделяю столько внимания этому компоненту игры.

 Posted: 20.04.09 10:21. Post subject: No pleasing tennis #..

No pleasing tennis #1 Nadal's tough-guy Toni

Rafael Nadal wrapped up a fifth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title and is overwhelming favourite to make it five-in-a-row at the French Open, but his uncle and coach Toni is still not happy.

World number one Nadal enjoyed a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Novak Djokovic in the final here Sunday to equal the record of five titles set by New Zealander Anthony Wilding from a century ago.

He is now 23-1 in claycourt finals, with his only loss coming at Hamburg in May 2007 to Roger Federer and has pulled level with the Swiss with 14 Masters crowns.

Uncle Toni however wants more.

"He played a good third set, but it's obvious he must play better than this week," said Nadal senior.

"He was missing a little confidence in his game and you could see that his serve was incredibly weak. But it's the first tournament on clay this season for him and I hope that with some more matches, it'll get better.

"We know that there's a lot of work to do before Roland-Garros. But he still won. It's a very important tournament for us and to win for a fifth time is incredible."

Nadal, who now has a 139-4 winning record on clay since 2005, insists that thoughts of a fifth French Open triumph are at the back of his mind with the Barcelona and Rome Masters to come in between a return to Paris.

"I'm not thinking about Roland Garros yet, I'm focused on Barcelona and Rome - there are more important tournaments before Paris," said Nadal.

"It's unbelieveble to win five titles in Monte Carlo. If I had to pick one Masters Series to win before the season it would be here.

"I felt well physically and mentally on the court."

Djokovic, the world number three, praised Nadal's claycourt power.

"You just have to be focused every single point because you have a player on the other side of the net that doesn't really give you any points," said the Serbian.

"You could see him at 5-1 in the third set, he played like it?s 5-all. He really doesn't care about the result. He just wants to give his best every single point. That's why he's very unique and that's why he's the best now."

Nadal's next task ahead is his bid for a fifth consecutive title at his home Barcelona Open starting Monday.

The Spanish star, from the island of Mallorca, considers the city something of a second home, with his past title runs at the Real Club proving real crowd-pleasers for the Catalan public.

Nadal last lost at the venue in the 2003 second round, going out to Alex Corretja, current claycourt coach of Andy Murray, the man he defeated in the Monte Carlo semi-finals on Saturday.

Barcelona is part of another ambitious spring schedule for the world number one, who is tuning up for his assault on a fifth straight French Open triumph at Roland Garros from May 24 by playing four out of five weeks.

And despite dominating on the surface, the reigning Wimbledon, Paris and Australian Open champion warned: "I haven't played to my level on clay yet, I'm still not at my best.

"So I have to improve if I want to have chances."

http://www.france24.com/en/20090420-no-pleasing-tennis-1-nadals-tough-guy-toni

 Posted: 20.04.09 18:01. Post subject: ATP Джокович: даже п..

ATP
Джокович: даже при 5:1 Надаль играет с полной концентрацией

Серб Новак Джокович (3), который уступил испанцу Рафаэлю Надалю (1) в финале "Мастерса-1000" в Монте-Карло, рассказал о предельной концентрации соперника.

"Посмотрите на Рафаэля при счёте 5:1 в третьем сете. Он играл так, будто счёт был 5:5. Его не заботит текущий счёт. Он хочет показывать свою лучшую игру в каждом розыгрыше. Вот почему он уникальный теннисист и лучший на данный момент", — цитирует Джоковича AP.

20 апреля 2009 года, понедельник. 17:53
Источник: "Чемпионат.ру"

 Posted: 20.04.09 19:27. Post subject: Очевидности и неверо..

Очевидности и невероятности.
Все-таки мужской теннис очень консервативная штука. Для того чтобы в нем изменился расклад сил и крупный турнир выиграл кто-то не входящий в лидирующую четверку, должны произойти просто титанические сдвиги. В женском теннисе все иначе. Что интереснее – вопрос личных предпочтений.
Надаль рухнул на корт, зажмурив глаза, полежал несколько секунд, а затем побежал благодарить соперника за игру. Два часа сорок минут спустя начала финального матча на турнире в Монте-Карло испанец стал его пятикратным победителем, а заодно переписал целый чемодан статистических выкладок. Первый пятикратный чемпион турнира серии «Мастерс», первая первая ракетка мира, выигравшая турнир в Монте-Карло с 1988 года, когда это удалось Лендлу. 14 титулов на турнирах серии «Мастерс» за карьеру – почетное второе место после Агасси – все это достижения, вызывающие безусловное уважение. Не говоря уж о такой ерунде как 27 матчей без поражений, да что там «без поражений», в финале против Джоковича Надаль впервые за три последних года в Монако проиграл сет.
Что показал финальный матч? Ничего нового – чтобы обыграть Надаля на грунте, нужно быть двужильным, а лучше всего иметь комплект запасных легких. Джоковичу они бы не помешали уже в концовке первого сета, когда он вызвал доктора на корт. Тем удивительнее, что после провала в концовке первого сета, когда серб проиграл пять геймов подряд, затем Джокович смог показать второй сет, в котором практически доминировал на корте. Тем не удивительнее то, что показать в матче с Надалем на грунте больше одного такого сета за матч вряд ли кому-то удастся, и начало третьей партии это подтвердило. Третий гейм третьего сета стал последним, в котором Джокович смог что-то противопоставить испанцу, затем силы закончились, и начался вынос тела под овации VIP-болельщиков на трибуне, которых, впрочем, были достойны оба игрока.
Если подводить итоги турнира и первой трети сезона, то можно сказать, что на данном этапе сформировалась «большая тройка» лидеров мирового тенниса – Надаль, Джокович и Мюррей. Именно эти игроки разыгрывали между собой все «Мастерсы» этой части сезона. Что же до Роджера Федерера, то швейцарец после финала Australian Open не смог показать ничего выдающегося и шансы на то, что до конца мая-начала июня что-то изменится – не очень высоки. Здесь.

 Posted: 20.04.09 21:10. Post subject: Nadal arrives in Bar..

Nadal arrives in Barcelona aiming to reproduce his Monte Carlo magic

Rafael Nadal has arrived in Barcelona where this year he hopes to capture an unprecedented fifth consecutive title at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, having achieved exactly the same feat in Monte Carlo last week, beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic 63 26 61 in the final.

The Majorcan played could not have had a better start to the clay court season, despite pressure to repeat his incredible winning streaks of recent years on the surface. Showing his trademark hardworking qualities, the world #1 arrived late last night at Barcelona’s El Prat airport, and was to be found on court early this morning for a training session at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona-1899. After the session, Nadal attended a press conference at which he spoke about his experiences in Monte Carlo and his hopes for the coming week in Barcelona.

“Winning Monte Carlo five times is incredible, but I feel very comfortable there and I always want to do well there, as it was the first Master Series I won. For sure I had a great run there, but it was a very difficult tournament. Even when you have five titles it’s not easy, but the first was the most complicated. But I feel very good there and that helps me.”

“I’m very happy to be in Barcelona again. Playing here is always special because it’s an opportunity to play in my club in front of friends and family, and this makes me want to perform the best I can. I’ll give my all, and although the calendar is very tough I wouldn’t want to lose this tournament as it means so much to me. If I am here it is because I feel able to win, but this means I won’t have any rest in three weeks through Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.”

“On clay in recent years I have achieved results beyond my dreams. I had never imagined anything like this, and for me every match is equal or more difficult than the last. Although people don’t rate my results unless I win, for me reaching the semi finals of a big tournament is a great achievement and this makes me approach every match with the maximum enthusiasm.”

http://www.barcelonaopenbancosabadell.com/index.asp?lang=eng

 Posted: 21.04.09 06:42. Post subject: The Eyebrows Have It..

The Eyebrows Have It
Posted 04/20/2009 @ 4 :15 PM
Steve Tignor
TENNIS.com

Rn You, the tennis fan tuning in without a care in the world, may think of this as the clay-court season. It may even be your favorite time of year. But for those of us who are paid to analyze the sport, the ides of April can bring with them a sensation of dread. This is the point each year when Rafael Nadal begins to make life as difficult as possible for us. How many different ways are there to say “wow,” anyway? On Sunday, Tennis Channel commentator Robbie Koenig was forced to plead to a higher power to come up with a superlative when Nadal tracked down a seemingly ungettable drop volley from Novak Djokovic. After the third replay of Nadal’s crosscourt flick winner, Koenig finally gave up trying to figure out how it had been done and cried, “only the good lord above knows.”

I know, you’ve heard it all before. You may even be getting a little sick of the Nadal love, the “gritty fighter” and “humble young man” stuff, the same way you may have gotten a little sick of the Federer love, all the talk of “genius” and “class” and “religious experience,” that preceded it. So I’ll give you a break and start my Monte Carlo wrap-up by asking a question about the surface itself. Now that I think about it, that may be another topic you’ve had enough of, but a tennis writer has to start somewhere.

Can we now agree, after this weekend's play, that clay is the best surface for the men’s game today? Seeing Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray hit every shot imaginable and run down every ball possible, I’m willing to say yes. Clay, which keeps topspin from skipping though the court while at the same time enabling players to slide themselves into position for hard-to-reach balls, allows the current generation to show off all of their skills like no other type of court.

First, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray, like most of their peers, hit heavy topspin forehands and back them up with penetrating two-hand backhands. If you’ve ever played on slow clay, you know that, the surface’s reputation aside, you need to generate enough pace and spin to hit a heavy ball that goes through the court—Lleyton Hewitt, a consummate grinder and winner of many hard-court titles, has never been a master of the surface because he can’t push his opponents off the baseline. Second, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray all have touch; clay, even more than a slow hard court, gives them the time not only to set up and hit that shot, but to slide and reach a very good drop from their opponent. Third, these guys can all play defense, which we know is a prerequisite on dirt—Pete Sampras was about offense at all costs, and clay was his bete noire.

Now that the serve and volley is nothing more than a change-up play, clay is the surface that demands the most complete game from players. Instead of an all-world serve—none of these three guys ever hold just by blasting aces—the foundation of the sport today is a mix of accuracy and power from the baseline. While Murray won without doing much attacking on the hard courts in Key Biscayne, he was forced to show everything he had to stay with Nadal in Monte Carlo. His game became much more varied and entertaining when he did. Ditto Djokovic. In Miami, Djokovic was generally content to put the ball in the middle of the court; Mary Carillo even said he looked tentative. Compare that to how he played the final in MC. The hooked forehands that sent Nadal wide; the frozen-rope backhands that had the Spaniard at full stretch; the ability to change directions with the ball and hit corners from anywhere: This is the old Djokovic, the real Djokovic, and hopefully the one we’ll see again in the future. As for Nadal himself, I don't need to mention how much clay suits his skills, the same ones that have made him the best and arguably most complete player today. It hardly seems an accident that he developed them on clay and extended them to other surfaces afterward.

In reviewing the Hamburg tournament last year, where Djokovic and Federer each took Nadal to three sets before losing, I said that while they had gotten closer than ever to beating him on clay, it had only served to show how far away they still were. I’d say the same for Djokovic after Monte Carlo, even though it was a very positive final weekend for him. It began in the second set of his semi, when Stan Wawrinka let him back into the match with some pointless errors after he’d won the first set. What was important was that Djokovic took the opportunity. He didn’t just ride the momentum to the second set and then fall back into his usual frustrated ways when that momentum ran out, as it was inevitably going to in the third. Instead, Djokovic stood and fought—yes, just like Al Gore—even when points weren’t coming easily for him. He played with the mix of patience and patterned aggression that once was his trademark, and it won him the match.

Djokovic was even better against Nadal. He weathered a first-set storm without getting visibly discouraged. He served lights out in the second set. He took his shots high and early. He moved Nadal off the court before coming forward. He wrong-footed him with his volleys. Most important and most difficult, Djokovic executed the riskiest of shots—like, say, the backwards-falling, inside-out forehand from the behind the baseline that lands smack on the sideline in the opposite corner—to perfection, which is the one true key to hanging with Nadal on clay. Then Djokovic made two simple but fatal mistakes: At 0-1 in the third, on two separate game points, he double faulted. That was enough. Nadal won the third 6-1. Why, after all that, would Djokovic—or we—believe that he could ever beat the guy on this stuff? Not that it matters to me much: I’m just happy to see them bringing out the best in each other again.

I get a different feeling with Murray. While he lost in straights to Nadal on Saturday, I think he believes he can beat him either in Paris or Rome. After playing poorly and testily until 6-2, 5-3, Murray loosened up when all seemed lost. As he said after the match, he used high looping defensive strokes well when he was pushed out of position, and like Djokovic he walked the tightrope of risk well, which, against Nadal, means he just barely reined his most aggressive instincts in. The last few games and the tiebreaker were spectacular and emotional (the effort required in a quality clay match also seems to drag out deeper emotions from players and fans—everyone leaves a little drained). Nevertheless, as Murray said afterward, when all the emotions had been spent and the spectacular shots hit, it was Nadal who won the two most colossal and crucial points of the tiebreaker. Still, I’d give Murray a decent shot at cracking the code against him on clay. Unlike Djokovic, he still believes anything is possible. Even the impossible.

As I said at the top, there aren’t many new praises left to sing about Nadal. But let me point out two moments from this weekend that struck me as instructive about him. Murray broke for 4-5 in the second set, after Nadal had held at least one match point. Nadal then lost the next game, which was to be expected. But what he didn’t do was lose game after that, the one that would have put him down 5-6 and likely cost him the set. It would have been superhuman if Nadal had come right back and broken Murray at 5-4 for the match. He didn’t do the superhuman. He just did what he needed to do to stem Murray’s momentum and get back to level terms in a tiebreaker, where they’d be starting from scratch. It sounds simple, but how many times have we seen players collapse completely and lose the set 7-5 in that situation?

The second instance came in the final. Nadal went down 3-1 in the first set but immediately found his best form and ran off five straight games. Then, as often happens, he lost that form at the beginning of the second set. In the third, rather than try to get back on the attack right away, Nadal stayed with a defensive game and slowly, step by step, shot by shot, began to go for a little more. The damn burst at 0-1 when he ripped a winning backhand pass down the line, the best-looking and most full-blooded shot he’d hit in about an hour. While Nadal kept that shot well within the lines, it gave him the confidence to go for more for the rest of the set.

What else is there for a tennis analyst to add about the humble and gritty man from Mallorca? How about we talk about his eyebrows? Are they ever not lowered to just above eye level, in a look of aggressive concern? I’ve seen a picture of Rafa at age 3 with his uncle Miguel Angel, dressed in a soccer uniform, and he has that same expression. How do you keep that look going for an entire match? More important, how do you keep that mindset—aggressive concern—going for two, three, five hours at a time? When I imagine the mental energy and tunnel vision needed to do that, only one word comes to mind. Wow.

 Posted: 21.04.09 18:27. Post subject: Здесь кусочек цитаты..

Здесь кусочек цитаты Рафы повторяется, но в переводе...

quote:

Теннис - АТР Барселона 21/04/2009 - 16:58 Надаль: «Не хотелось бы проигрывать здесь» Первая ракетка мира Рафаэль Надаль намерен продлить серию своих побед на турнире в Барселоне. Испанец выигрывал эти соревнования последние четыре года, а теперь попытается одержать пятую победу. Интересно, что на прошлой неделе 22-летний уроженец Мальорки в пятый раз подряд выиграл турнир серии «Мастерс» в Монте-Карло. «Я рад снова приехать в Барселону, - цитирует Надаля РИА «Новости». - Для меня это возможность сыграть перед моими друзьями и семьей, и я настроен выступить на максимуме своих возможностей. Отдам все силы, и, несмотря на сложный календарь, мне бы не хотелось проигрывать здесь. Если я приехал сюда, значит, чувствую, что могу победить. Правда в этом случае у меня не будет возможности отдохнуть в течение трех недель». В прошлом году в финале турнира в Барселоне Рафа за 2 часа 14 минут обыграл своего соотечественника Давида Феррера – 6:1, 4:6, 6:1. На данный момент победная серия Надаля в столице Каталонии составляет 20 матчей. Последнее и пока единственное поражение олимпийского чемпиона на этих престижных соревнованиях датировано 2003 годом, когда нынешнему лидеру мирового рейтинга было всего 16 лет. Тогда его во втором круге огорчил еще один представитель Пиренейского полуострова Алекс Корретха (6:3, 2:6, 1:6), ныне консультирующий британца Энди Маррея. http://www.eurosport.ru/tennis/atp-barcelona/2009/story_sto1914506.shtml

 Posted: 21.04.09 23:59. Post subject: Интервью Тони Journ..

Интервью Тони

Journalist: Toni Nadal, Good night, congratulations one more time
Toni: Yes
J: What Rafa done, is for a Superman, no?
T: Yes, summing up he has 14 Masters 1000 and three away from Agassi - who has more titles (Masters) in history. The problem is, as always, it seems easy, but we have to keep enjoying what we had because one person like him is only born in many years (he compares to something is born rarely but I couldn't catch it) and we are luck that Rafa is the best player in the world and he is winning. But as he always wins it becomes something usual but we have to value what the Majorcan player is doing.
J: What you say is true, Toni, because 5 MC and it could be the 5th on Barcelona as well, so we start talking about some milestones that are amazing.
T: Well, for MC yes, but for Barcelona we still have to start and it is not easy to win,no?
J: A lot has been said about the calendar and Rafa would love to be everywhere, especially if we talk about the Spanish tournaments, Barcelona, Madrid and also Rome. Why is there so much talking about Madrid? Did you think about put it aside?
T: No, it is because Madrid is the last Masters on clay before RG, so if you have to put any aside, the most logical is to pull out the last one, but sure this is hypothetical, the normal schedule is for Rafael to play in Madrid. But Rafael could do very well in these three Masters and he could be very tired. But we have to wait for things to happen, the normal schedule is for him to go there and then will know.
J: Will you rest at any moment?
T: Yes, after it there is a rest week. Also Madrid Master is the one that fits less to the preparation to RG. It is the most different (regarding conditions) as MC is the closest and Rome has close conditions. All these things make you think if you have to put any aside, it would be Madrid, if you are not Spaniard. But for the Spaniards what they want is to play on Spain
J: Do you think that Rafa can become the best player in history as it seems? Or do you think it is best to be prudent and do not count on it and keep working like you did until now?
T: When we talk about the best player on tennis history it seems almost impossible because the truth is, in one way or the other, we are far away to become it. So I don't consider it, what I consider is that Rafa is a very good tennis player who is getting important triumphs for him at least or for us. He has won 6 GS and there isn't many people on history that had won so many and he has won 14 Masters and I think he is the second in the history tied with Roger Federer and this is important, valuable but now we can't consider him to be better than Rod Laver, Pete Sampras or Roger Federer because I think he is still far far away from them. If within five years Rafa wins 6 or 7 GS we could think about it but now he has what he has and his records don't make him the best on history.
J: How to cheer him up when he is upset and how do you cut him when he is cherishing himself too much?
T: Well (a lot of intelligible words). I cheer him a lot and I cut him a lot. There is always a situation that he needs to be cheered. There are a lot of words to say.
J: One example
T: I don't know, for example on Australian Open, when he was very tired before the match, he was discouraged to face the final and I was repeated I don't know maybe 30 times Obama's motto: Yes we can. First to let him know he could as well and also for the language, no? Though I think I know how to cut him better than cheer him up.
J: Well our tennis specialist is Javier (didn't catch his last name)
Javier: Is the gap between Rafa and Roger smaller or there isn't any gap anymore?
T: I think it is a bit smaller because I talked to you one year and a half ago Rafa hasn't won Roland Garros, Wimblendon and Australian Open. Currently Rafa has won these three tournaments and as I am person that get things based on numbers, now Rafa has the double of titles than he had then, now he has 6. So this is one of factors. On Masters tournaments they are tied, Rafa is 22 years old, so Rafa reduced the gap, but I think that Roger Federer along with Rod Laver are the best players in the history and I'll repeat, Rafa is far away from them.
J: Watching the match yesterday I have the feeling or my personal opinion that Rafa Nadal has a great satisfaction beating Djokovic. Is he the player on tour that Rafa has more satisfaction beating because we all know how Djokovic is.
T: Well in the sport what gives more satisfaction to Barcelona is to beat Real Madrid and to Real Madrid is Barcelona, so it is the same, you enjoy more beating the best...
J: But he doesn't like to beat Federer so much
T: I assure you the relationship with Djokovic is good.
Ja: Though Djokovic has done some stupid things
T: Yes, yes. In the end I prefer to keep away from things that happened. I think we are a group on tennis and it is for the best if we keep a good relationship with everyone. and this is what I try to show to Rafael, the most I can do.
J: But you go well with this one than that other one
T: I totally agree. (I don't understand what Toni says something like to keep it good with everyone and a special one with others). It makes no sense to have a bad relationship because you see them all the time, some times you practice with them, in the tournaments they ask you to do something together, I think it would be bad for tennis and for yourself (keed bad relationships). I think one of the things that Rafael and Federer have done very well is to have a great rivalry on court and have kind of a friendship off court. With Djokovic he has a little less but the truth is he goes well with Djokovic too. There were times that he had imitated Rafa and it could annoyed (?) Rafa a bit, nothing more. But it is normal. I think they have a normal relationship, they are cordial to each other and there is no problem. Rafa has illusion to beat Djokovic because he is a talented player and one of Rafa's direct opponents
J: Tell Rafa to take care of his teeth, to goto the dentist because he will bite a lot of trophies.
(they make some jokes, involving Toni and Miguel Angel, but I didn't get because they talked at the same time)
Javier says about ET leaving ATP and the new CEO, that used to work to the clothes company that sponsor Rafa and Federer.
J: Do you think this change is positive to the tour in the next years?
T: I think it is a positive change because at first he seems to be someone that at least listens. In this life I think it is not good to be a dictator or do not listen to people because the people involved in the circuit has something to say and one can't think that he has an idea and has to go after it without listen to anyone else. For example (he) wanted to downgrade MC but I told him this is at least lack of gratitude because this is a tournament helped tennis to be where it is now. Only for this aspect it seems wrong for me and in other subjects he never listened to anyone and this is not good. So only this already makes it better now because he at least showed the intention to listen. So I think we will do better.

 Posted: 22.04.09 00:01. Post subject: Just like Julian P..

Just like Julian
Posted 04/21/2009 @ 1 :28 PM


by Pete Bodo

Don't you all love the way Rafael Nadal returned to the business at hand last week at Monte Carlo, winning that Masters 1000 event for the fifth time? One of the things that most struck me about the effort takes us back to Miami, and the puzzling way Nadal left us at the end of the early hard-court season, He ventured closer than he ever had ever before to excuse-making when he cryptically cited "personal" reasons as an explanation for his noticeably dampened and surprisingly out-of-focus performance against Juan Martin del Potro in the Miami quarterfinals.

Well, Nadal put the kibosh on any notion that this curious end to the US swing was somehow going to morph into a soap opera (that other top player has provided us with more than enough fodder to please the most eager overcomplicators; can conspiracy theories be far behind?). This is one of the reasons we love Nadal, right? He's all about cutting to the chase: Let's get on with it. Time's a wastin'. I got things to do and people to see. Personal reasons? Oh, that! Hey, who do you think I am, Jennifer Aiston? I've moved on!

So Rafa's performance in the closest place we have to Disneyworld for unhappy princesses, international arms dealers, and extremely rich but really, really boring people was vintage in more ways than one. This ordinarily would be a good reason to feel cheerful - how could you not be moved to celebrate a guy who's cumulative record in clay-court Masters and Roland Garros is an off the charts 69-2?

But it's time for me to 'fess up. I've been having lots of trouble "connecting" with Rafa ever since he dropped the clamdiggers and sleeveless sausage-casing tops. I know it's pretty late in the game to be making this confession, but I thought the discomfort would pass. And, hey, this is not an easy thing to admit for a guy who's never been particuarly interested in getting in touch with his feminine side. What does it say about me that I'm bummed out about what amounts to. . .well . . . a wardrobe change? Should I feel weird about this? Do I need to see a therapist (and if so, any chance Rafadoc will give me a discount?).

Anyway, it's time to face the music. I can no longer duck the job of writing the Nadal post on the grounds that there's really no news, or that his recent history is fairly uncomplicated. But that happens to be true, as hungry as may be for all things Rafa. He's a fiercely burning star arcing toward a peak, a point not yet in sight and therefore not yet subject to the "what ifs" or "if onlys" that will later shape and enrich any conversation about him - giving the likes me of me something a little more thought-provoking to contemplate.

Right now, Nadal is at about the same point in his own trajectory that Federer passed, in his, sometime around July of 2006. And always keep this in mind - the higher you go, the easier it becomes in one critical, counter-intuitive way: the force of gravity actually decreases the farther you are from the earth. It's strongest for those still struggling to get off the ground (just ask Donald Young, or Fabio Fognini). Life in the stratosphere - it's a beautiful thing. Enjoy it before you pass the peak of your trajectory and the gravity you've defied for so long inevitably begins to pull, and pulls faster and faster until you re-enter the atmosphere, burst into flames, and lose your Nike contract.

So, speaking of Nike, I'm still discontented that shoe-and-apparel giant decided to present us with what I think of as a new version of Rafa, or, in my mind, country-club Rafa. Oh, I know, everyone has to grow up. Besides, how much money can you pump out of all those pimply teen-agers who, gazing upon Rafa's guns, identify with and long to emulate him? There are always new marketing worlds to conquer, and no matter how much paunchy Dr. Rabinowitz or concave-chested Forrest Harbinger III wants to look younger, more vigorous, stronger, and even slightly . . dangerous. . .those guys aren't totally deluded. Can you picture either of them walking through the door with an armload of piratas and muscles shirts, causing his wife to burst into tears and scream, Honey, what were you thinking??????

No danger of that anymore. A Presbyterian minister could wear Rafa's current kit without a trace of self-consciousness.

Personally, though, I'm a little sad that we have a new, conventional Rafa. I'm not really into fashion, but I try to be observant about everything, including fashion, and enjoy trying to work out the signals and messages we all send with our actions and tastes. Years ago, I dismissed the original Nadal fashion statement as a cruel joke played on this poor Spanish kid; I thought Rafa looked dangerously like the newest member of the Village People in those clamdiggers, sleeveless shirts and the thick bandana that would have been appropriate dressing for a head wound incurred during the War Between the States (it was a particularly gruesome and violent war).

That "look" seemed forced, foreign (to tennis), and too aggressively down-market at the time. Besides, the Nike sleeveless polyester Nadal t-shirt cost about fifty bucks last time I checked, but I was pretty sure you could get something just like it at Wal-Mart, or Target, for $3.99 (and that's not even on sale). That other $45, I guess, is what you paid for the oxymoronic promise that something would keep you "Dri" (that's sports-marketing speak for "dry") when you're doing something that's supposed to make you perspire like a Comanche in a sweat lodge.

But over time I grudgingly had to admit that the pirata calculation was perfect (just compare the two pictures of Rafa here). Either Nadal showed that the outfit caught something essential and true about his nature, or the sheer force of his explosive, exuberant athletic and personal style turned a costume into a symbol. Whatever the case, it worked. Nadal's outfit came to define him. It suggested that he was both a common laborer, perspiration gleaming on his bulging bi-ceps under a brutal afternoon sun, and also as a swashbuckling hero, a bold and feckless youth intent on performing impossible feats of derring-do. I'll tell you what they should have stenciled on his racket face - the Jolly Roger. But the irony would have been too cruel.

I'm not sure why the new country-club Rafa vibe bums me out. Part of it must be the degree to which it's a sharp comment that nobody, not even Jet Boy, is young forever. But who really wants an older, more mature, more mainstream Rafa? I don't want to deny him his humanity - of which he has a great deal, as we've all seen - but I kind of liked him as a comic book superhero, a young man who makes 10 and 11 year olds (not to mention women of every age) blink, as if they're not quite sure that what they're seeing could possibly be. . . real. Am I the only one who thinks that the new outfit yields some valuable ground that Rafa earned with a hard fight, and almost seems to say: Aw, we were just kidding, Rafa's not scary or ovepowering or different at all, he's just like Julian Benneteau now, except he wins a lot more!

Rafa used to be a muscle car; now he's a Volvo. He used to be seaman, now he's a yachtsman. He used to be slightly dangerous looking; a guy who might be carrying a switchblade tucked into one of those socks. Now it looks like that thing tucked into his sock is more likely to be a little can of breath freshener.

But what I'm most bummed about is simply how old Nadal looks in his "tennis whites" a lot of the time. You can really get a sense of that if you scroll through the pictures at any of the big commercial photo stock houses. He either looks like an old, big dude with stringy hair or, in some recent pictures, like somebody else dressed him - his sisters or someone: I know, Paz, let's dress my brother Rafa up like a tennis player. I think daddy has some tennis clothes in the hall closet!

I take comfort in one thing, though. Neither pirata nor country club Rafa is a fashion plate. And the Spanish as a group can certainly use a dude - especially a commanding dude - to leaven the hair gel and square-toed shoe factor with a dose of blissful ignorance of all things Calvin Klein. When you see a bunch of Spanish players together, you could be forgiven for mistaking them for guys auditioning for roles in a new reality show: Andalusia's Top Male Models.

Oh, vanity - they name is Roland Garros contender! Check out this photo of Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco. How about that belt buckle Feli's rockin' with his hip hugger jeans?

Anyway, this change of outfit has really messed with the way I think about Nadal. I'm a little spooked, worried that whatever "feel" I had for his nature as either a competitor or a person is severely damaged, or going to evaporate. And it's made me realize that over the past few years I really developed a lot of "feeling" for Nadal - something that's a mixed blessing in my line of work, where you're rarely more than one compound sentence away from outright prejudice or an off-putting degree of favoritism.

So in the long run, maybe it's a good thing that swashbuckling Rafa has morphed into country club Rafa, but like a lot of other people, I don't necessarily want what's best for me.

PS - Gentle reminder that posting here is not a right, it's a privilege - and one that you'll lose if you make a comment that serves to ruin the generally friendly, collegial atmosphere

 Posted: 22.04.09 11:26. Post subject: Albert II of Monaco ..

Albert II of Monaco : « A lot of admiration for Lance Armstrong »

RMC Sport (editor: Jean-François Pérès), 21/4/2009

Prince Albert II of Monaco reminisces about the sumptuous sports calendar of the Principality in 2009: Tennis Masters, F1 Grand Prix, start of the Tour de France…in particular, we find out that the reigning prince is a fan of Rafael Nadal and Lance Armstrong.

Monseigneur, the Monte-Carlo Rolex tennis Masters has once again broken the attendance record with 124.000 spectators in 8 days. What do you think about the extraordinary dominance of Rafael Nadal on clay? (the Spaniard has won the tournament for the fifth consecutive time on Sunday.)
Like Björn Borg in his time, he dominates his era. He possesses exceptional physical, technical and mental qualities. Even though he’s still very young, he shows self-control, determination and an ability to stay cool under pressure. He manages to get out of complicated situations. He’s a really great champion. We could wish for his rivals to give him more resistance but it’s so extraordinary to watch him vary his shots and have so much pleasure on court that we can’t get enough of such a spectacle.


Перевод Moondancer c VB.com

 Posted: 22.04.09 12:41. Post subject: Интервью Тони on A..

quote:

Интервью Тони

quote:

on Australian Open, when he was very tired before the match, he was discouraged to face the final and I was repeated I don't know maybe 30 times Obama's motto: Yes we can.

Спасибо Тони. Несомненно, в этой победе есть огромная его заслуга